Is Gonzaga #1?

[CoverTwo]

This is kind of my 2nd team in College Basketball. Been following them since Richie Frahm and Matt Santangelo were there back in the early 2000's. What do you guys think about them and their title chances this year? That front court is indeed monstrous but they could get in trouble if Olynyk ever got into foul trouble in a tourney game. I imagine they'll be the #1 seed everyone has going down first but if they play their game, I'm not sure there are many teams outside of Indiana and maybe Duke that can beat them. Unlike previous years where they struggled some after the 2nd round & Sweet 16, I think this team is built for March and can be a Final 4 contender.

[Luke Skycocker]

I disagree. I think they'll make it to the Elite 8 maybe, but they're not gonna win the title

[I Bleed Garnet]

They're going to be the #1 team, but they aren't the best team

I like IU, they're battle tested.

Also like G Town. One thing the tourney has shown is one guy always seems to take over, I think Otto Porter Jr is that guy.

[lakefire]

You ever make it up to Spokane?

[usc1]

They've already peaked as a team. They won't keep this up through March. I don't think they get past the Sweet 16

[MikeTrainNC8]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

This is kind of my 2nd team in College Basketball. Been following them since Richie Frahm and Matt Santangelo were there back in the early 2000's. What do you guys think about them and their title chances this year? That front court is indeed monstrous but they could get in trouble if Olynyk ever got into foul trouble in a tourney game. I imagine they'll be the #1 seed everyone has going down first but if they play their game, I'm not sure there are many teams outside of Indiana and maybe Duke that can beat them. Unlike previous years where they struggled some after the 2nd round & Sweet 16, I think this team is built for March and can be a Final 4 contender.

I was a Stockton fan growing up, so I've definitely liked the Zag's teams over the years.. always have great guards ever since Stockton to the late 90's and so on.

They have a scary good team, no better frontcourt than Zaga (other than a healthy Kelly Duke). Olynk is a monster, not sure why the NBA scouts aren't all about him

[Travelin]

I like the Zag's and georgetown this year, but look out for St. Louis this year.

[M.C.]

if they played in the big east they would have at least 5 losses

the teams they play are a joke

[I Bleed Garnet]

Originally Posted by M.C.

if they played in the big east they would have at least 5 losses

the teams they play are a joke

It's probably better than an SEC schedule

[M.C.]

Originally Posted by I Bleed Garnet

It's probably better than an SEC schedule

yea right man go look at it

[Gyle41386]

Originally Posted by I Bleed Garnet

It's probably better than an SEC schedule

Per CBS' SOS numbers:

23. Florida 0.5763
36. Tennessee 0.5692
53. Missouri 0.5581
54. Texas A&M 0.5579
57. Georgia 0.5552
58. Kentucky 0.5538
68. Vanderbilt 0.5492
71. Gonzaga 0.5482
81. Arkansas 0.5452
87. Alabama 0.5426
96. Mississippi State 0.5374
107. Auburn 0.5289
117. LSU 0.5233
132. Ole Miss 0.5110
136. South Carolina 0.5100

Average SEC SOS: 0.5442

Pretty much, yeah.

[b381l]

So far they have played 3 ranked teams this year.
Illinois # 13 lost
Oklahoma St # 22 won
Butler # 13 lost
They're a good NIT team. With they're schedule, they shouldn't even be allowed
to be ranked.

[I Bleed Garnet]

Originally Posted by b381l

They're a good NIT team.

Although I do agree the schedule is weak. And the Resume isn't great.
I disagree with this.

They'll win their Conference tourney meaning they (By rule) deserve to be in the Tourney.


They'd probably win the SEC this year as well.

[ElectricCock]

I'm cheering for em but I agree with previous posters, their resume proves they're not quite there yet.

But hey, this has been an insane season so far, so I guess you can't count anyone out (except for us of course haha)

[I Bleed Garnet]

Originally Posted by ElectricCock

I'm cheering for em but I agree with previous posters, their resume proves they're not quite there yet.

But hey, this has been an insane season so far, so I guess you can't count anyone out (except for us of course haha)

Agreed. This has been an extremely entertaining season.

I believe they've gotten this high because of their name and what they've done in the past. Of course the team has great talent. But the Resume doesn't stack with other teams (Although their RPI is 9 with the SOS being 71, don't understand that one)

If this was any other Mid-Major school (example Murray State from last year) they would not rise that quickly in the polls.
The difference between Murray State's schedule and Gonzaga's is a lot different but I couldn't think of anything else.

That said there is nothing bad to say about what Mark Few has done with that program.

[wilbert G willigers]

They have wins over Kansas St (by 16), Oklahoma (by 25), Oklahoma St, Davidson (by 14), St. Mary's x2, BYU x2, Baylor, and Santa Clara x2. They are legit. If you are knocking them for losing 2 times all season (to a team that has gone to the national championship 2 times in the last 3 years, and a great program like Illinois), you are holding them to way too high of a standard. When is the last time a team went undefeated??? Yea, that's what I thought. Now they may not be THE best team in the country, but they are a top 3-4 team no doubt. The tournament will tell the story

[b381l]

Originally Posted by wilbert G willigers

They have wins over Kansas St (by 16), Oklahoma (by 25), Oklahoma St, Davidson (by 14), St. Mary's x2, BYU x2, Baylor, and Santa Clara x2. They are legit. If you are knocking them for losing 2 times all season (to a team that has gone to the national championship 2 times in the last 3 years, and a great program like Illinois), you are holding them to way too high of a standard. When is the last time a team went undefeated??? Yea, that's what I thought. Now they may not be THE best team in the country, but they are a top 3-4 team no doubt. The tournament will tell the story

None of those teams are ranked. Joke schedule. I wonder if Vitale will bring that up.

[I Bleed Garnet]

Originally Posted by b381l

None of those teams are ranked. Joke schedule. I wonder if Vitale will bring that up.

K State and Ok State are

[Gyle41386]

Originally Posted by b381l

None of those teams are ranked. Joke schedule. I wonder if Vitale will bring that up.

Judging a schedule based on top 25 wins in a sport with well over 300 teams seems like more of a joke to me. Their out of conference schedule, the opponents they actually control, is just fine. It's one of the top 25 in the country. I'm not going to stick up for their conference because outside of the top 3 or so teams, it's not very good. But, as the earlier numbers showed, their schedule is in the upper fifth or so of all of college basketball. Hardly a joke.

[FilchCock]

Ok, I've been wondering about this too, because the Zags really are intriguing this year. To start this off, I'm not sure why people are saying that Kansas St., the 13th-ranked team in the country who Gonzaga beat, isn't ranked. As far as the tournament goes, normally I look at a team's tournament viability through a combination of depth and matchups. With the frontcourt of Harris-Olynyk-and a couple of big goons they are deep and athletic down low, which is gonna give other teams some serious matchup problems. Some of the best teams like Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, and Duke might have one dominant post player, but they don't have anything like Gonzaga's frontcourt depth. This, combined with the fact that they can really shoot, I think will be enough to get them to the elite eight. They are gonna run into matchup problems, though, when they face an athletic, up-and-down-the-court team like Michigan, especially if that team is led by a good point guard like Trey Burke. Who is a great wing athlete on the zags? Hart? Pangos? I just don't see it. And who is going to guard a great point guard? Cus I love little stockton, but he is not a physical, tough defender. So I think with favorable matchups they could make it to the Final Four, where they will probably run up against a more complete team. However, I think they could be upset early by even a mediocre team like Chapel Hill, Cincinnatti, or Ole Miss (if they make the tourney), who have athletes at every position.